"...To another prophecy" (1 Cor 12:10) Prophecy in its simplest explanation means to "speak on behalf of somebody else" or "to speak for someone else". Through the gift of prophecy, the Holy Spirit uses us as an instrument to speak forth God's mind. We speak as if God himself is speaking. It is not unusual to see people speaking in the first person term ("I have come", "I will bless you:, etc) when operating on this gift. This is because they are literally speaking for God. But this does not imply that they lose consciousness and enter into a state where they do not know what they are saying. No, people prophesying are fully aware of what they are saying. The Holy Spirit gives them the boldness to speak out in faith. This gift is mostly demonstrated inside the church during worship. It is one of the gift that finds full expression during services. And it is the only gift that was exalted in comparison to other gift (1 Cor 14:5,6). The Bible specifically said that the gift of prophecy is superior to the gift of speaking in tongues and the reasons are well expressed in the Bible. Today's lesson will introduce us to this gift and how the Holy Spirit uses it to edify the church and glorify God..
As already stated, to prophesy means to "speak for another" It is a divinedly inspired and anointed utterance. It is a supernatural utterance in a known tongue in contrast to speaking in tongues which is a supernatural utterance in an unknown tongue. Tongue here refers to language. Because this gift involves speaking does not mean that it is controlled by the human mind. No, it is a great supernatural act just like walking on the sea is a great supernatural act. It is only the Holy Spirit that gives the ability to do this. Prophecy is not done based on intuition or feeling, but a deep conviction by the Holy Spirit because it the Holy Spirit that gives the utterance. Prophesying is not predicting the future, or foretelling or forecasting. It is easy to have this gift operate in conjunction with word of knowledge and the word of wisdom. But they are still distinct from one another.
The use of this gift include speaking to people supernaturally, edification of the church, exhortation of the church, comforting of the church, etc.
God bless you!